The September club meeting featured an appearance by Rich Meyer, a founding member of SJAC!
The club secretary missed the October meeting and is therefore unable to report on it! :-)
The November meeting brought officer nominations for 2005 and a "pep talk" for the final Grand Prix/Club Challenge events of the year.
During the December meeting we held our traditional gift "exchange". This event & the growth of the club resulted in outstanding attendance by approximately 50 members!
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At press time, the club has 120 memberships current
in dues for 2004. With family memberships, this includes a total
of 140 members!
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| Aug | '04 | Maria & Steve Carrington - Mt. Laurel |
| Sep | '04 | Lauren Fittz - Mt Laurel |
| Oct | '04 | Buuce Barker - Haddonfield |
| Oct | '04 | Stan Cooper - Cherry Hill |
| Oct | '04 | Dana Duckman - Voorhees |
| Oct | '04 | Magdelena Falasca - Haddonfield |
| Oct | '04 | David King - Smithville |
| Oct | '04 | Jason Miller - Haddonfield |
| Oct | '04 | Tom Quigley - Haddonfield |
| Oct | '04 | Lou Sariego - Haddon Hts. |
| Nov | '04 | Millie Centeno - Newtonville |
| Nov | '04 | Kirk Earney - Haddon Twp. |
| Nov | '04 | Judy Rusk - Thorofare |
| Nov | '04 |
Bill Smith & Annette MacMillan - Haddonfield |
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President's Corner Hello runners. Looking back over the last year it's an understatement to say it was a success for the SJAC. |
There is energy this year that I only dreamed about at
the beginning of the year. I want to thank every one of you this year
that came out and ran, marched or socialized with us. Because of you we
have made the SJAC the premier running club in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Of course we have the 3rd consecutive win in the USATF grand prix series.
Of course we have the two male and female winners in the series, Joy Hampton
and Jim Flanagan. Of course we have a great running series in the summer
that just keeps on growing. But that's not really all we are about. We
are about runners sharing a common bond with each other. And it's what
gets us out of bed on those cold winter mornings to see warm smiles when
we head out for our runs. And it's what warns us up when we are done and
we are sipping coffee commiserating about the wind chill. And I will also
tell you this. As the club president it makes me so proud to see so many
of you out there winning age group awards, finishing first time marathons
and encouraging others that are injured. It makes me smile when I see
you cheering on the other runners, coming to races when you're not fit
just to support the team and just being a team player. Isn't' that really
what a running club is all about? So thank you for the great year. Have
a happy and healthy holiday. I'm looking forward to more adventures ahead!
See you on the roads,
Brandon Hamilton,
SJAC club president
New website address!
We've acquired the domain name "southjerseyac.org" along with a redirect service. This has enabled us to continue utilizing the free web space afforded to us while employing a more easily recognizable web address.
The secretary now looses the distinction of being the only club member able to recite the URL for our web address from memory. :-) Visit our website at:
New Club Officers
Nominations for SJAC officers for 2005 were taken at the November meeting. Brandon Hamilton offered to serve as president for another year as did Ed Maher for secretary. Trevor Orthmann was nominated for vice president. Eileen Stevenson was nominated for treasurer. There were no opposing candidates for any office and the above were approved by a unanimous voice vote, eliminating the need for voting at the December meeting. This spared us any potential debate about hanging chad & which candidate won the electorial vs. popular vote!
THREE-PEAT!
***SJAC wins M-USATF Club Challenge***
For the third consecutive year, SJAC won the Mid-Atlantic USATF Club Challenge Championship. This was an eleven race series, running from March through November and was conducted over distances ranging from 5K to the marathon. SJAC topped several other running clubs in the Mid-Atlantic region to win this honor. Crucial to our success has been the support of club members. This year, sixty SJAC members also declared their affiliation with SJAC on their membership with the Mid-Atlantic Association of USATF. Club Challenge and Grand Prix results can be found at:
Club Challenge & Grand Prix Results
Several marathon and 8K runners assembled for a club group photo on November 21st.
HAMPTON & FLANAGAN WIN GRAND PRIX!
Joy Hampton won the Grand Prix Circuit of races conducted by Mid-Atlantic USATF. In winning this championship for the second consecutive year, Joy bested all of her competitors by a substantial margin.
After two years finishing in the runner up position, Jim Flanagan finished atop the standings in the Mens division. Not bad for a guy who was knocked out (literally) during some tough winter training.
CONGRATULATIONS JOY AND JIM!
Several other SJAC members had successful Grand Prix seasons. Following Joy into the top ten were Helene McGovern (Usher) finishing in fifth place and Rita Alles in ninth. On the Mens side, Herb Townsend finished fourth, Seth Bergman was seventh and Brandon Hamilton came in tenth. Another seven women and three men from SJAC finished in the top three of their age groups in the Grand Prix. These individuals will be among the many honored by the Mid-Atlantic Association of USA Track & Field at the Annual Award Luncheon on Jan. 22, 2005 in King of Prussia. Info on the luncheon was mailed to USATF members. Anyone else interested, drop Ed a line at: maher@comcast.net
INTERESTED IN A CLUB RELAY?
As discussed during the December club meeting, we intend to enter a team in the
"Reach The Beach Relay"
If New Hampshire at the beginning of the fall foliage season and traversing 210 miles (16 - 20 by running) with 11 other SJAC teammates peaks your interest, stay tuned or send Brandon or Ed an E Mail for more information.
Save the date: Sept. 16-17, 2005
Bretton Woods to Hampton Beach, NH
RENEWED ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
SJAC has renewed its membership with the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) for 2005. Among the benefits of this membership is liability insurance for races and other events we conduct. A roster of SJAC members was provided to the RRCA national office.
We have also renewed our club membership in the Mid-Atlantic Association of USATF. Unlike the RRCA, individual membership in USATF is separate from the organizational membership. Anyone wishing to join USATF Mid-Atlantic can obtain an application at this link: Mid-Atlantic USATF Membership
NOTE: Unless you live outside of New Jersey (in eastern PA or Delaware), applying for USATF membership via the online process will cause your membership to default to the New Jersey Association of USATF and you will be unable to compete for SJAC in the Club Challenge or individually in the Mid-Atlantic Grand Prix.
SJAC SINGLETS
Additional SJAC singlets are on order with Sugoi. Let us know if you're interested in one. Samples of the singlet can be seen below as modeled by Rich Gardner & Eileen Stevenson along Boathouse Row during the Philadelphia Marathon. Let us know if you're interested in one.
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The "C'mon Eileen" modification is a non-standard, after-market option :-)
Philadelphia Marathon & Rothman 8K
On Nov. 21st, twenty-three SJAC members completed the Philadelphia Marathon and another twenty-four completed the Rothman Institute 8K. Some random pictures follow (plus 1 from Memphis).
...of course, not all the marathoners were on time for the group picture.
Brandon Hamilton rounds Boathouse Row just beyond 14 miles.
JimFlanagan greets his fans as he heads into the 16th mile.
Sue Hamilton is a picture of concentration.
Elaine Coccia cheered on by Joy Hampton.
Leon Nable heading for home with just over a mile to go.
Joe Kopacz just past 2 miles in the 8K.
Mickey Rosati in the last mile of his first sub 3:00 marathon.
Nick Pomponio strikes an unusual pose just past 14 miles into the marathon.
Nick, what's up with that????
Joy Hampton "airborne" on her way to a 3:25:09 in the Memphis Marathon on Dec. 4, 2004. I guess keeping her feet from touching the ground is how she stays so fast!
